Protesters Demand Government Resignation After Madrid Train Collision as Police Use Tear Gas

A protest demanding the resignation of the government was held in Madrid, the Spanish capital, following the tragedy caused by a collision between trains. According to media reports, clashes broke out overnight between protesters, ultra-right groups and police.

Around 500 demonstrators gathered outside the Ministry of Transport. Some of them threw bottles and pyrotechnics at police, while police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Protesters held placards next to a picture of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez with the slogans "Go!", while others read "Criminals" and "Corruption kills".

The Spanish trade union CSIF is calling for the resignation of Transport Minister Óscar Puente. This came after the minister said the accident was caused by an "inexplicable" erroneous order issued by the train traffic control dispatcher.

According to Puente, a computer system failure disrupted the operation of the safety system on a 63-kilometre section of the railway line between Madrid and Seville, and all trains on this section stopped automatically. After this, the state railway management company Adif switched the system to manual mode and allowed the Renfe high-speed train to continue toward Seville despite a red signal. The train later collided with an Iryo train that had stopped.

The accident killed at least 68 people and injured dozens more. The incident occurred on Wednesday morning, when a train travelling from Madrid to Seville collided with another train that had stopped on the tracks.